"He had a movie premiere"- Laura Sanko analyzes factors behind Israel Adesanya's UFC 293 middleweight title loss to Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya is still reeling from the greatest upset of his career. At UFC 293, Adesanya tasted defeat against Sean Strickland, an opponent that many, perhaps even 'The Last Stylebender' himself, considered his easiest foe to date.

In the wake of UFC 293, a lot has been made about Israel Adesanya being dethroned by Sean Strickland, with some going so far as suspecting that something might have been amiss with the former champion. On an episode of DC & RC, UFC commentator and former fighter Laura Sanko offered her thoughts.

Sanko, who had a one-fight stint in Invicta, earned high praise this past Saturday, after making her pay-per-view commentary debut at UFC 293. On the notion that Israel Adesanya may or may not have underestimated Sean Strickland, Laura Sanko had the following to say:

"Listen, Izzy is a guy, who, I think, is at a level where his focus is unshakeable, but it is impossible to ignore the fact that he had a movie premiere, it was clear as day, he felt ultimately confident in being able to beat him in a variety of different ways. I do think that, maybe, there was, especially coming off the heels of vanquishing the greatest foe in your entire career, there's no way he didn't feel like 'I can take this guy out.'"

Not only did Laura Sanko cite non-fight related commitments that could have distracted the former middleweight kingpin from his fight, but she believes that the confidence boost that Israel Adesanya may have gotten from finally defeating Alex Pereira, his greatest rival, may have led to him underestimating Sean Strickland.

Catch Laura Sanko's comments about Israel Adesanya's unexpected defeat in the video below:

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Will Israel Adesanya get an immediate rematch against Sean Strickland?

In the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White was asked about the possibility of Adesanya and Strickland facing off in an immediate rematch. White welcomed the idea, but the possibility of another immediate title rematch for Adesanya has proven controversial.

While some support the idea, others, like Daniel Cormier, disagree. Given that Adesanya is now 1-2 in his last three fights, and just lost in the first title defense of his new reign after regaining it in an immediate rematch post-his loss to Pereira, the idea of him getting another immediate rematch has drawn mixed reactions.